Millions told to ration water as heatwave sends demand up by 50%

Millions of households were last night urged to ration water as a surge in the
number of sweltering Britons turning on the taps triggered low pressure
across homes in London and the Home Counties.

Severn Trent urged its customers across the Midlands to turn off sprinklers when they go to bedPhoto: ALAMY

By Steve Hawkes and Louise Gray

11:00PM BST 17 Jul 2013

Four of Britain's biggest water companies Severn Trent, Affinity, South East and Yorkshire told customers to cut back and use water "wisely" as temperatures hit a record 32 degrees centigrade.

The Met Office issued a "level three heat health watch" for London and the south-east amid predictions that July could be the driest since records began 247 years ago.

Affinity, a water company that supplies three-and-a-half million homes across north London and the home counties, issued an alert admitting "water supply problems".

The company said demand had leapt by as much as 27 per cent. In a statement to customers it warned: "With the recent hot weather, Affinity Water has experienced a large increase in demand for water, this has resulted in some of our customers experiencing low or reduced pressure.

"We have increased the production and storage of water to meet the extra demand. We would ask our customers to use water wisely."

Severn Trent warned its reservoirs were not refilling as much as "we would like" overnight and urged its customers across the Midlands to turn off sprinklers when they go to bed. Meanwhile, farmers were urged to think about irrigating their fields at night to relieve pressure on the system.

Thames Water admitted customers "in pockets" of London were suffering from low pressure with demand surging by up to 50 per cent, but insisted no taps had run dry. Demand across Thames' nine million homes has soared from 2.6 billion litres of water a day to 3 billion.

Jerry White, head of water for Thames said: "At peak times of day in certain areas, demand for water has been increasing by between 20% and 50%. It's like when a sale opens on Oxford Street, there's plenty of stock but lots more people are trying to go through the door at the same time, so there can be a bit of crush momentarily."

South East Water was reduced to asking households to "let the lawn look after itself", and keep sprinklers focused on plants.

In north Yorkshire, the River Hodge Beck in Kirkbymoorside ran dry and one village, Exelby, was left without water at one stage. A spokeswoman insisted this was down to a burst pipe.

The Environment Agency said households across the country should do all they could to "protect supplies".

Industry insiders insisted there was little chance of a drought or hosepipe ban despite the heatwave. But sources claimed it would renew the debate about whether water companies had been prioritising investors over the needs of their customers.

Officials sent out the first heatwave warnings and police and fire chiefs urged people to be careful when swimming in open water after four people died in a lake at Bawsey Pits in Norfolk.

With the baking temperatures forecast to last until at least the weekend, Public Health England advised people to stay cool, drink lots of cold fluids and keep an eye on the elderly.

Dr Angie Bone, heatwave plan leader for PHE, said: "During very hot weather, pregnant women and people who have chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular, respiratory, renal conditions, diabetes or Parkinson's disease, may experience discomfort if indoor temperatures are particularly hot and in using public transport.

"Employers should ensure indoor areas are kept cool and consider allowing these individuals to travel to or from their place of work during cooler, or less busy, times of the day."

Supermarkets reported a surge in sales of bottled water with Waitrose insisting customers were flocking to its frozen food aisles to cool down. The Society of Biology said the heatwave meant the UK's garden ants were taking to the air to find a mate earlier than usual. One survey claimed 42 per cent ofbosses were sending staff home earlier than usual to enjoy the weather.

The scorching sun is expected to stay until at least the weekend, meaning that Britain is on course for 14 successive days of temperatures above 28 degrees centigrade, the longest run since 2006. Just 4mm of rain has fallen across England and Wales since the start of July, with the record low for the month at 8mm.

Met Office forecaster Sarah Holland said: "It will stay particularly warm, with 31C highs on Thursday and 29C on Friday. It will stay mainly dry, although with the risk of an isolated afternoon shower.

"And next week looks settled, dry and warm, although the North-West risks outbreaks of rain.

"There is a risk of more unsettled, cooler conditions spreading from the north-west later in the month."